The Climate thread

[Pato del Muerto 52,489]

Probably anyone that had nuclear attack school drills regularly is a little sensitive to it. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by Pato del Muerto

[GSU&UT 1,798]

The free market in action, solving all of our problems! Remember that Government regulation couldn't address this problem the way smart and very serious and not extremely evil CEOs could.

 

[Biff Tannen 45,674]

1 hour ago, GSU&UT said:

The free market in action, solving all of our problems! Remember that Government regulation couldn't address this problem the way smart and very serious and not extremely evil CEOs could.

 

The only thing that will turn the tide is worldwide, governmental regulation.  That will never happen, so we are just fucked.

[gmr548 16,576]

On 7/14/2023 at 1:15 PM, Biff Tannen said:

This.  I've never understood the "fuck the environment" mentality.  Why would you not want to recycle and not breathe exhaust fumes and not throw trash everywhere?  It's always been bizarre to me.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,511]

15 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

Dammit, I knew that was going to come up eventually.  Fucking Mike Judge.

Anyway, I do have a question for the boomers and gen xers, I guess.  I was born in 1982.  The Cold War was a vague thing for me growing up.  I ended up learning all about it, but never had this fear of nuclear annihilation that so many older people have.  I have a coworker who is only 15 years older than me that brings up the nuclear scenario daily.  He thinks it's about to be Red Dawn all the time.

Is this purely based on how you all grew up?  Was it just nuclear this, nuclear that, every day?

 

I understand if it was, but just trying to get a decent grasp on the hysteria.

I was born in the late 60s and the nuclear threat wasn’t considered a big deal. Didn’t fears peak in the 50s and early 60s?

guess we had a few movies about it like WarGames. 

[troph 24,783]

16 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

Dammit, I knew that was going to come up eventually.  Fucking Mike Judge.

Anyway, I do have a question for the boomers and gen xers, I guess.  I was born in 1982.  The Cold War was a vague thing for me growing up.  I ended up learning all about it, but never had this fear of nuclear annihilation that so many older people have.  I have a coworker who is only 15 years older than me that brings up the nuclear scenario daily.  He thinks it's about to be Red Dawn all the time.

Is this purely based on how you all grew up?  Was it just nuclear this, nuclear that, every day?

 

I understand if it was, but just trying to get a decent grasp on the hysteria.

Gen X, nuclear war was not an active threat in the way that tornadoes seemed to be back then. we had fire and tornado drills on a regular occurrence. that said, plenty of public buildings had radioactive shelters designed into their construction. I think the Cuban missile crisis was probably the peak, and since then it's always been a remote possibility. I would say now is as high of a possibility as we've seen in a long while with the Ukraine war. I did have a few nightmares in the War Games style showing missiles firing. until now Russia has always been a top threat even with the end of the Cold War. But all of that, I'd say anyone that thinks about Red Dawn all the time probably really just misses the simplicity of dual super powers (and their proxies) as opposed to what we have now with EU, USA, NATO, UK, Russia, various Middle East groups, radical terrorism (domestic and abroad), China, and all that comes with this multilateral global positioning.

[bolverk 29,665]

17 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

Dammit, I knew that was going to come up eventually.  Fucking Mike Judge.

Anyway, I do have a question for the boomers and gen xers, I guess.  I was born in 1982.  The Cold War was a vague thing for me growing up.  I ended up learning all about it, but never had this fear of nuclear annihilation that so many older people have.  I have a coworker who is only 15 years older than me that brings up the nuclear scenario daily.  He thinks it's about to be Red Dawn all the time.

Is this purely based on how you all grew up?  Was it just nuclear this, nuclear that, every day?

 

I understand if it was, but just trying to get a decent grasp on the hysteria.

I was born in 1971, so I would've been 12 in 1983 when "The Day After Came Out" and that show fucking terrorized me about the possibility of a nuclear holocaust. It gave me nightmares for a few days and general existential angst for a while afterward.

[MC Fresh Breath 4,074]

Gen Xer who was raised believing that God wouldn't let man destroy the earth unless Jesus raptured all us believers and who cares then because heaven was going to be awesome!

So I didn't worry about nuclear war because that would be silly.

 

[MC Fresh Breath 4,074]

Now the rapture folks want to kill you first just to make sure.

Quote

 

But the experience at KCCI, a CBS affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa, was more extreme. Hired by the station two years ago to help weave the reality of global heating into his forecasts, Gloninger flagged the science where appropriate, reminding viewers during a flood event that a warming atmosphere holds more moisture, or of the upward march of global temperature during a heatwave.

But this soon provoked angst from some viewers, who grumbled that he should “stick to the weather”. Then, last July, he started getting a string of emails that included threats against his life.

 

Quote

 

“It was ‘I am going to kill you’ written in a very deliberate way in a long letter and followed by obsessive emails,” said Gloninger. His critic demanded that he “go the hell back to where you came from DOUCHEBAG!!!” and demanded “what’s your home address, we conservative Iowans would like to give you an Iowan welcome you will never forget.” The emails attacked Gloninger for pushing a “liberal conspiracy theory on the weather”, calling climate change a “Biden hoax”.

What followed was a painful, fraught year in which Gloninger and his wife, Cathy Danko, struggled to deal with what they felt was an overt threat to their safety. The meteorologist started to suffer from stress-induced acid reflux and a chronic cough. He felt his zest for work was diminishing. He ended up in therapy for a year.

 

we are the smartest people.

Quote

“I would go to work until 11pm at night and my wife was alone, we’d worry when a car drove past at night, your heart races a bit,” he said. “I was a first responder for several years and so I’ve seen things that left me upset but this is something I’d never experienced before. We were frightened, we had no idea what a man in rural Iowa would take a stand over. We were awake at all hours.”

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/16/chris-gloninger-tv-weather-man-climate-crisis

[Bookman 4,639]

I was in grade school in the early 80's and we definitely had nuclear bomb drills at school.

[bolverk 29,665]

35 minutes ago, Bookman said:

I was in grade school in the early 80's and we definitely had nuclear bomb drills at school.

That's interesting. We didn't in West Texas where I grew up. I'd always thought that silliness ended in the 1960s. We did do tornado drills like everyone else. Do you mind saying, in a general sense at least, where that was?

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,395]

I hate late-stage capitalism.

[jimmyjazz 45,899]

Needs more pics of Chikage.

[The Royal We 3,072]

17 hours ago, Bookman said:

I was in grade school in the early 80's and we definitely had nuclear bomb drills at school.

Same. Grew up in Bellville, TX and can still remember crawling under desks for "protection." I don't think the teachers told us explicitly what it was for, but I can remember thinking it was in case those lousy Russians tried to start some shit. And lord knows Bellville freaking Texas would have been very high up on their list of places to kick off WWIII. That chickenshit little desk was wearing me for protection from a nuke.

It's not a coincidence that Rocky IV and Red Dawn were two of my favorite movies as a kid.

[DigglerontheHoof 21,186]

I was born in 1966 and never once attended a school that held nuke drills. 

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,395]

On 7/16/2023 at 4:47 PM, WhatTheBuck said:

For an animal with a lifespan of about a year-and-a-half, six months is a third of their life, when they’re consuming the bulk of their feed.

Being out in pastures for 12 months out of 18 seems like a significant role in the food chain. 

[nbmishoid 949]

Born in 54.  Brat-like.  Had the drills on the regular up thru the 6th grade (66).  Being at the largest army base in the US made us a logical target.  What we kids talked about was we would all be vaporized so what  good would this do?

[WhatTheBuck 28,776]

40 minutes ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

Being out in pastures for 12 months out of 18 seems like a significant role in the food chain. 

33% less time than they spent throughout most of history seems like a significant decrease. In terms of caloric intake, it’s a reduction of a lot more than 33%. I don’t know what the exact figure is but I’ll bet around half of the calories consumed by cattle in their lifetime come from sources other than grass in the final third of their lives. And that’s just for beef cattle. The reduction in the role grass plays in the diet of dairy cattle is even more significant. They get less than half of their calories from grass. In the diet of industrial scale chicken production it’s been eliminated entirely.

I shouldn’t have included the photo of the feedlot. I was going to do a little photo essay showing the growing conditions for a variety of animals and then decided against it. I liked that pic of the feedlot and decided to include it as one example. I think as a result you’re focusing on just the case of cattle raised for slaughter while I’m talking about our entire food system. But it’s still true that the way we raise most of our cattle for slaughter today compared to how we’ve done throughout history involves a significant reduction of the role grass plays in their diets. Even more so in terms of calories than in time spent on the pasture. And that’s not even considering the impact on the animals’ health and welfare. 

[Biff Tannen 45,674]

18 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

33% less time than they spent throughout most of history seems like a significant decrease. In terms of caloric intake, it’s a reduction of a lot more than 33%. I don’t know what the exact figure is but I’ll bet around half of the calories consumed by cattle in their lifetime come from sources other than grass in the final third of their lives. And that’s just for beef cattle. The reduction in the role grass plays in the diet of dairy cattle is even more significant. They get less than half of their calories from grass. In the diet of industrial scale chicken production it’s been eliminated entirely.

I shouldn’t have included the photo of the feedlot. I was going to do a little photo essay showing the growing conditions for a variety of animals and then decided against it. I liked that pic of the feedlot and decided to include it as one example. I think as a result you’re focusing on just the case of cattle raised for slaughter while I’m talking about our entire food system. But it’s still true that the way we raise most of our cattle for slaughter today compared to how we’ve done throughout history involves a significant reduction of the role grass plays in their diets. Even more so in terms of calories than in time spent on the pasture. And that’s not even considering the impact on the animals’ health and welfare. 

And the ungodly amount of water this all uses. Bottom line is there were never meant to be this many cows. Period. 
 

 

[hookem2010 2,624]

You call this imbalanced?

[Willfully Horn 8,008]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

And the ungodly amount of water this all uses. Bottom line is there were never meant to be this many cows. Period. 
 

 

As there are almost 50% more cattle in 2023 than there were bison in 1800, that is more than fair.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Willfully Horn

[Biff Tannen 45,674]

7 hours ago, Willfully Horn said:

As there are almost 50% more cattle in 2023 than there were bison in 1800, that is more than fair.

And even more to that point, the amount of bison was what nature had decreed could exist.  The number of cows is purely of human doing, without regard to what nature can handle.

[YChang 3,443]

Small bit of good news about what cities are doing to address this. I would love a highline concept in our cities here. 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230714-how-texas-is-fighting-back-against-heatwaves?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pocket_hits&utm_campaign=POCKET_HITS-EN-DAILY-SPONSORD&GRIST-2023_07_18=&sponsored=0&position=4&category=what_else_were_reading&scheduled_corpus_item_id=951ffc09-5ac8-4808-b893-1a30b1a6c3e6&url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230714-how-texas-is-fighting-back-against-heatwaves

[bolverk 29,665]

Good morning.

The 15 hottest days, in the world's hottest month

By the end of the week, it is likely that 15 days just this month will have breached an unprecedented global temperature threshold — a clarion wakeup call in the form of extreme weather.

Why it matters: Nearly every facet of the climate system is flashing red this summer, from record-low sea ice extent in Antarctica to hot tub-like ocean waters surrounding South Florida, and all-time high temperature records set in multiple countries on at least three continents.

• And all this is occurring as human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels and other sources continue to increase, despite the existence of ever-cheaper technologies to generate electricity and power certain modes of transportation.

Zoom in: Already this month, 14 days have recorded surface air temperatures greater than 17°C (62.6°F) — spikes that have not been seen for roughly 125,000 years.

• In fact, Wednesday marked the 17th straight day with global temperatures hotter than any prior days on record.

Several more records are all but certain to fall in the coming weeks:

• July will be the hottest month on Earth since instrument records began in the 19th century.
• The milestone for the hottest summer worldwide is in jeopardy, according to the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
• NOAA and the ECMWF has said additional heat waves are likely in coming weeks, particularly if the dominant weather pattern — featuring multiple, stuck heat domes around the hemisphere — is not disrupted.

By the numbers: The heat domes worldwide have been noteworthy for their duration, expansiveness and severity. This is the case even in places famous for hot weather, where people would normally shrug off a hot stretch.

• The overnight minimum temperature Wednesday morning in Phoenix was a sweltering 97°F, an all time high for that location.
• On Friday, the city is forecast to have its record 20th-straight day with a high temperature of 110°F or greater.
• Austin, Texas, has had 10-straight days with a high temperature of 105°F or greater, an unprecedented streak.

Threat level: This heat is not a mere inconvenience or something to power through.

• It is downright deadly, particularly for vulnerable populations including the elderly, young children, those with chronic illnesses and people without access to air conditioning.
• Early figures on heat-related deaths in parts of the U.S., for example, are starting to emerge, and in coming weeks it is likely these will climb.
• A recent study in the journal Nature Medicine found severe heat waves in Europe last summer killed as many as 61,000 people.

The intrigue: The 17°C demarcation line is not a hard climate boundary beyond which ice sheets will melt and the oceans rise inexorably. Rather, it represents yet another warning — a "Stop, turn back" sign on the march to a more treacherous and less familiar planet.

• It is also the product of a modern but not 100% precise method of carefully estimating the planet's temperature on a daily basis.
• It involves computer model reanalysis, in which data from ships, buoys, surface weather stations, satellites and other sources are crunched and calculated in near-real-time.

What they're saying: Forget about the overused expression, "the new normal," to describe our current climate moment. As Friedericke Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London told Axios, "We’re nowhere near a normal."

• "Whenever we stop burning fossil fuels we can begin to figure out what 'normal' means again," Otto said.
• Former NASA climate scientist James Hansen, who rose to prominence by warning the Senate and the American people about the dangers of climate change in the sizzling American summer of 1988, told The Guardian: "We are headed wittingly into the new reality – we knew it was coming."
• He termed humanity "damned fools," saying: "We have to taste it to believe it."

The bottom line: Perhaps this is our taste of the new type of extreme heat, as we transition into even more unstable times. Because this is both one of the hottest summers of our lives, and one of the coolest of the rest of our lives.

 

[troph 24,783]

On the drive from Glenwood Springs, CO to Morrison, CO (Redrocks near Denver) across I-70 and most of the state yesterday I saw untold number of dead pine trees. Turns out they don’t like drought and a bump up in heat - even if I find it completely bearable, even enjoyable here.

It rained the whole concert and while it was uncomfortable, I thought multiple times, more please. 

the mental anguish is unrelenting. Even in altitude. 

Edited July 21, 2023 by troph

[troph 24,783]

I did read that the US has more trees now than we had 100 years ago though, so there is that.

[Steamboat1874 4,056]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:39 AM, jimmyjazz said:

Needs more pics of Chikage.

[Longhorn_Fan68 33,869]

laugh so you don't cry

 

[Felix 607]

"Everybody in McKinney is dead."  LMAO

[jimmyjazz 45,899]

On 7/21/2023 at 1:30 PM, Felix said:

"Everybody in McKinney is dead."  LMAO

He handled that like a pro.

[RomaVicta 29,905]

On 7/16/2023 at 9:23 PM, Biff Tannen said:

Dammit, I knew that was going to come up eventually.  Fucking Mike Judge.

Anyway, I do have a question for the boomers and gen xers, I guess.  I was born in 1982.  The Cold War was a vague thing for me growing up.  I ended up learning all about it, but never had this fear of nuclear annihilation that so many older people have.  I have a coworker who is only 15 years older than me that brings up the nuclear scenario daily.  He thinks it's about to be Red Dawn all the time.

Is this purely based on how you all grew up?  Was it just nuclear this, nuclear that, every day?

 

I understand if it was, but just trying to get a decent grasp on the hysteria.

I'm a boomer. No, it wasn't a daily discussion or very often in the forefront of the news or our minds. It wasn't inevitably going to happen, and what could you do about it anyway? Fear arose during specific incidents. The Cuban Missile crisis happened when I was only old enough to see something serious was going on. Even then, there weren't enough missiles to destroy the world.

Deployment of cruise missiles unsettled many people because they could start a nuclear very quickly and increased the chance for an accidental war. Early 80s produced a number of nuclear war movies. 

But again, what are you going to do about it?

Global warming is real. It is far more worrisome to me than nuclear holocaust. It's actually fucking happening, and it's not even on the front burner of conversation. As a boomer, I'll be gone before it likely gets too bad. I have no children, but I care about the younger generations and their fate. I'm more careful with water, plastic (I buy aluminum and glass containers when I can), and I'm conscious of the carbon emission problem, so I try to not use too much energy.

I can't afford an electric car, but I'm looking to buy a car this summer that gets twice the mileage or more than our cars do now. That would halve my main carbon output which is a goal for 2030 that the world has neither the desire or the decency to achieve.

Our world will be viewed in awe and resentment by whatever world follows the climatic consequences. We had it so great, but we didnt give a shit about the cost to others.

Yay capitalism and a stupid, pandered, entitled electorate!

Edited July 24, 2023 by RomaVicta

[RomaVicta 29,905]

On 7/17/2023 at 10:44 AM, GSU&UT said:

The free market in action, solving all of our problems! Remember that Government regulation couldn't address this problem the way smart and very serious and not extremely evil CEOs could.

 

Way back when you called the corporations evil or selfish or rapine, you'd get the answer that a corporation was comprised of shareholder; little old ladies, the milkman, and probably your own family. Now how could that be wicked?

I also recall an early 60 Minutes or CBS White Paper where they looked into corporations, how they were run, and what were their priorities. Towards the end, they interviewed the head of Phillips 66 (prominent oil company of the day). 

If you had to make a decision between helping America or helping your company, which would you choose?

He squirmed for maybe one second.

Phillips 66. That's my job.

Maybe the last honest thing a CEO has ever said regarding corporate intentions.

[Satchel 6,938]

I understand solar and wind  are providing a third of the power generation necessary to keep the Texas grid online. That’s can’t be true. Can it? Solar and wind power are evil.

[Biff Tannen 45,674]

11 minutes ago, Satchel said:

I understand solar and wind  are providing a third of the power generation necessary to keep the Texas grid online. That’s can’t be true. Can it? Solar and wind power are evil.

It’s been more like half for Austin this summer. 
 

Well over half right now actually. 
https://austinenergy.com/about/environment/renewable-power-generation

Edited July 24, 2023 by Biff Tannen

[RomaVicta 29,905]

In an article in either Atlantic or The New Yorker this year, there was a piece about possible advances in nuclear energy and testing of remarkable new technologies.

As the preamble to the main article, a compelling case was made about how many thousands of square miles of solar panels it would take to take on a high percentage of the international demand for energy. There was a similar point about difficulties with wind power hooking to the power grid and the available land for those as well.

The viewpoint in the article was far from being against these renewable sources, but merely indicating they would not be enough thus the expansive article on nuclear. I don't recall the technical details, but the new breed would be easier to build and cool. I think molten salt would replace water and bring some benefit.

Just an fyi. I think we'll need nuclear even if there are risks. A few meltdowns would be better that climatic cataclysm.

[Biff Tannen 45,674]

15 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

In an article in either Atlantic or The New Yorker this year, there was a piece about possible advances in nuclear energy and testing of remarkable new technologies.

As the preamble to the main article, a compelling case was made about how many thousands of square miles of solar panels it would take to take on a high percentage of the international demand for energy. There was a similar point about difficulties with wind power hooking to the power grid and the available land for those as well.

The viewpoint in the article was far from being against these renewable sources, but merely indicating they would not be enough thus the expansive article on nuclear. I don't recall the technical details, but the new breed would be easier to build and cool. I think molten salt would replace water and bring some benefit.

Just an fyi. I think we'll need nuclear even if there are risks. A few meltdowns would be better that climatic cataclysm.

I am not a nuclear engineer, but I have to think that the technology levels we have now, compared to say 1980s Russia, should be more than sufficient to prevent full on meltdowns. Nuclear certainly has other drawbacks, but I think compared to coal, oil, and gas, it’s a no brainer. 

[Neonmoon 38,129]

File this under the no shit category, but it's nice to have science confirm it 

 

 

[Willfully Horn 8,008]

No step forward, two steps back. Coral along the southern tip of Florida are dying in waters hot as the high 90s. What are most vulnerable are the corals ‘planted’ in restoration efforts. Where the destruction is total.

Quote

The Coral Restoration Foundation said in one coral reef restoration site off the state's coast, the extreme temperatures have proved deadly.

"On July 20th, CRF teams visited Sombrero Reef, a restoration site we've been working at for over a decade. What we found was unimaginable — 100% coral mortality," said Phanor Montoya-Mayoa, a restoration program manager at the foundation who has a doctorate in biology. "We have also lost almost all the corals in the Looe Key Nursery in the Lower Keys."

Sombrero Reef is a protected area off the Florida Keys, just past Marathon. It's a popular site for snorkelers and divers as the area is home to star corals that are considered endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Coral Restoration Foundation has been on a mission to restore the reef, spending years planting and protecting various corals.

Fuck.

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coral-reef-mortality-florida-ocean-temperatures/

[Brisketexan 105,095]

No step forward, two steps back. Coral along the southern tip of Florida are dying in waters hot as the high 90s. What are most vulnerable are the corals ‘planted’ in restoration efforts. Where the destruction is total.

The Coral Restoration Foundation said in one coral reef restoration site off the state's coast, the extreme temperatures have proved deadly.

"On July 20th, CRF teams visited Sombrero Reef, a restoration site we've been working at for over a decade. What we found was unimaginable — 100% coral mortality," said Phanor Montoya-Mayoa, a restoration program manager at the foundation who has a doctorate in biology. "We have also lost almost all the corals in the Looe Key Nursery in the Lower Keys."

Sombrero Reef is a protected area off the Florida Keys, just past Marathon. It's a popular site for snorkelers and divers as the area is home to star corals that are considered endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Coral Restoration Foundation has been on a mission to restore the reef, spending years planting and protecting various corals.

Fuck.
 
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coral-reef-mortality-florida-ocean-temperatures/

Blah blah blah fake news the earth was hotter when the dinosaurs thrived and this is all part of gods plan.

Did I get that right?

[GSU&UT 1,798]

18 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

I can't afford an electric car, but I'm looking to buy a car this summer that gets twice the mileage or more than our cars do now. That would halve my main carbon output which is a goal for 2030 that the world has neither the desire or the decency to achieve.

I definitely understand budget constraints. I was privileged enough to get a decent paying job in the past couple of years and bought a used 2019 Chevy Bolt since it's one of the cheaper EVs with a decently long-range battery. It's ugly (the newer ones less so, but Chevy is discontinuing it in favor of the Equinox) but it pairs well with having a regular hybrid, my wife's car, or something else where you won't have to worry about stopping for long-ish periods of time on big road trips. You generally have to pay more for registering your vehicle since the state doesn't get any gas tax off of it, but you make that up quickly in saving on actual gasoline, especially now that I'm in the PNW where gas is like a dollar or more than TX and the South East.

The used models really aren't that expensive now either, but it does cost some to add a dedicated circuit and charging unit in your home if you want that even with rebates. I've done that twice now though since I moved from Georgia (where I bought the car) to Oregon.

[Chewbacca 7,773]

On the drive from Glenwood Springs, CO to Morrison, CO (Redrocks near Denver) across I-70 and most of the state yesterday I saw untold number of dead pine trees. Turns out they don’t like drought and a bump up in heat - even if I find it completely bearable, even enjoyable here.
It rained the whole concert and while it was uncomfortable, I thought multiple times, more please. 
the mental anguish is unrelenting. Even in altitude. 

Those are dead from pine beetles, not heat.

[GreenspointTexas 9,600]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/world/gulf-stream-atlantic-current-collapse-climate-scn-intl/index.html
 

this seems bad

[Foosters 17,850]

9 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/world/gulf-stream-atlantic-current-collapse-climate-scn-intl/index.html
 

this seems bad

What will this do to the Mediterranean? Should I encourage my daughter to purchase land in Tunisia?

[RomaVicta 29,905]

1 hour ago, GSU&UT said:

I definitely understand budget constraints. I was privileged enough to get a decent paying job in the past couple of years and bought a used 2019 Chevy Bolt since it's one of the cheaper EVs with a decently long-range battery. It's ugly (the newer ones less so, but Chevy is discontinuing it in favor of the Equinox) but it pairs well with having a regular hybrid, my wife's car, or something else where you won't have to worry about stopping for long-ish periods of time on big road trips. You generally have to pay more for registering your vehicle since the state doesn't get any gas tax off of it, but you make that up quickly in saving on actual gasoline, especially now that I'm in the PNW where gas is like a dollar or more than TX and the South East.

The used models really aren't that expensive now either, but it does cost some to add a dedicated circuit and charging unit in your home if you want that even with rebates. I've done that twice now though since I moved from Georgia (where I bought the car) to Oregon.

Thanks for the info.

My other shame in addition to being an lolpoor is that we rent. It's actually a fabulous place in the country, but we don't own it.

Still, great information!

[RomaVicta 29,905]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Fuck.
 
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coral-reef-mortality-florida-ocean-temperatures/

Blah blah blah fake news the earth was hotter when the dinosaurs thrived and this is all part of gods plan.

Did I get that right?

Didn't capitalize God. Express ticket straight to hell. So sad. I'll pray for you!

[RomaVicta 29,905]

The coral and the currents?

What bunch of goddamn idiots let this happen? 

It's a race to destruction between the republic and the world in which it exists. At least we're leaving a pervasive presence of microplastic for whatever humans make it and all the critters.

Last disjoint thought: look at how small the coversation is about all of this. TV news isn't equipped to handle such a huge issue which will lead to the biggest news event in history. It's slotted in as a story between panel shows dying to talk about predictable events and processes in politics. In fact, the big story about this cataclysm will be which party stands the most to lose in upcoming elections.

Remember when we got wall-to-wall coverage on JFK Jr.'s missing plane? Just shots of the ocean and repeated explanations of the flight path. For days. Days! This story is more important and impactful, but you wouldn't know it by the editorial policies of cable news and just about all other outlets. Maybe these stories will change this, but they will fade away in the daily news cycle.

Because we're goddamn idiots.

[elfenix 34,230]

Didn't capitalize God. Express ticket straight to hell. So sad. I'll pray for you!

Didn't hyphenate out the 'o' and write 'G-d' like you don't have any understanding that the pronoun "God" is being used in place of God's holy name, Yahweh, which is the word you're not supposed to use, but also you think that you're getting around the commandment by doing the hyphen and thereby tricking an omnipotent power into not sending you on an express train straight to hell, so an express ticket straight to hell for you!

[troph 24,783]

2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

 

 

Those are dead from pine beetles, not heat.

that's what I thought (I know that's the case near Monarch Pass), and I'll take your word for it, but I did ask google and the answer I received was the number one cause of tree death in the rockies has been heat/drought.  but I'm just passing through (for now) so what do I know?

Edited July 25, 2023 by troph

[troph 24,783]

7 minutes ago, elfenix said:

1 hour ago, RomaVicta said:

Didn't capitalize God. Express ticket straight to hell. So sad. I'll pray for you!

Didn't hyphenate out the 'o' and write 'G-d' like you don't have any understanding that the pronoun "God" is being used in place of God's holy name, Yahweh, which is the word you're not supposed to use, but also you think that you're getting around the commandment by doing the hyphen and thereby tricking an omnipotent power into not sending you on an express train straight to hell, so an express ticket straight to hell for you!

my trip to hell has nothing to do with punctuation i'm pretty sure.

[Chewbacca 7,773]

4 minutes ago, troph said:

that's what I thought (I know that's the case near Monarch Pass), and I'll take your word for it, but I did ask google and the answer I received was the number one cause of tree death in the rockies has been heat/drought.  but I'm just passing through (for now) so what do I know?

Most of those trees have been dead for a decade or more, but since they are in the national forest there is nobody to cut them down.  The pine beetles came through Colorado starting in the late 90s and petered out 8-10 years ago, and they killed a massive amount of trees all over the state.  If you look at the trunks of the dead trees, they have several small holes bored into them.